V. WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT

Our Principles

• USP will seek a diverse base of officers, trustees, volunteers, and employees and ensure equal opportunity to all qualified individuals in recruiting, compensation, professional development, promotion, and other employment practices
• USP will provide a supportive working environment in which officers, trustees, volunteers, and employees are free from harassment and discrimination and may freely contribute to the organization

Our Policies

Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

USP is an equal employment opportunity employer and takes affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, Vietnam-era veterans, and other covered individuals. It is USP's belief that an organization achieves these goals only through leadership and focused implementation of a results-oriented affirmative action plan and equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, age, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. These policies maintain and enhance workforce diversity and apply to all employee actions including staffing, compensation, promotion, transfer, demotion, social and recreational programs, layoffs, employee benefits, training and development, disciplinary actions, employment termination, and other general conditions of employment.

USP affirms its long-standing commitment to hire and develop a diverse workforce, maintain a business culture that recognizes the contributions and interests of diverse cultural and social groups, and maximize employee efforts by understanding individual differences and perspectives. USP intends to be a role model as an employer to the public by valuing diversity and requires every USP employee to assist in achieving the goals of these policies.

Specifically, USP commits to:

1. Recruit, hire, train, and promote the most qualified persons in all job classifications;
2. Ensure that promotion decisions align with principles of equal employment opportunity by using only job-related requirements in the selection process;
3. Establish and maintain human resources policies and programs that are administered fairly and equitably, without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, age, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law;
4. Improve the representation of qualified women and minorities in departments and in job groups where under-representation exists by developing programs and goals toward this end;
5. Take affirmative steps to prepare women and minority group members for advancement within USP;
6. Provide a work environment for everyone that is free of all forms of harassment; and
7. Apply these equal opportunity principles to officers, trustees, volunteers, and employees.

Americans with Disabilities Act

USP strongly supports the policies of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and treats all officers, trustees, volunteers, employees and applicants with disabilities in accordance with the requirements of this law. USP evaluates individuals based on abilities, not disabilities, and gives full and equal employment and volunteer opportunities to each person with the ability to perform the essential functions of his or her role, with or without reasonable accommodations. As a result, USP urges officers, trustees, volunteers, employees and applicants to declare any special needs to allow discrete, confidential, and prompt consideration of reasonable accommodations.

Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment

Sexual, gender-based, and general harassment in the workplace is not permitted and contrary to USP's policy to foster a productive work environment, free from any form of harassment, intimidation, or insult. Although gender-based and general harassment may not involve sexual behavior at all, sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature by officers, trustees, volunteers, employees, representatives, guests, or vendors, when:

1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
2. Submission or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

USP does not tolerate any form of harassing behavior in the workplace. Concerns regarding any type of harassing or discriminatory behavior should be brought to the attention of USP Human Resources, USP's General Counsel, or otherwise reported in accordance with the Whistleblower and Non-Retaliation Policy. USP will conduct a prompt and thorough investigation, and if the investigation confirms that an individual committed an act of harassment or discrimination, he or she will be subject to disciplinary action. USP also does not tolerate any form of retaliation for good-faith complaints of harassment or discriminatory conduct at work.